Learn Jazz Standards Podcast Brent Vaartstra: Jazz Musician, Author, and Entrepreneur

"You miss 100% of the shots that you don't take".

 Have you ever heard that old Wayne Gretzky quote? That's the greatest hockey player that ever lived. Or was it Michael Scott from The Office? I get that one a little bit confused sometimes. Anyways, we're gonna talk about that quote, "You miss 100% of the shots that you don't take".

In today's episode, we're going to be talking about some musical mindset and how we can propel our music and our jazz playing forward.

In this episode:

1. The quote "You miss 100% of the shots that you don't take" is attributed to Wayne Gretzky, the famous hockey player.
2. The importance of taking action and not being afraid to try new things.
3. The analogy between hockey and music, emphasizing the need to take musical "shots" or try new ideas.
4. The significance of persistence and continuous practice in improving musical skills.
5. The idea of experimenting with different strategies and approaches to music to find what works best.
6. The concept of learning from mistakes and using trial and error to enhance musical abilities.
7. The role of improvisation in jazz music and the importance of taking risks and reaching for new ideas.
8. The connection between exploration and creativity in music.
9. The impact of AHA moments and how they can lead to breakthroughs in musical expression.

Important Links:
Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Listen to the Learn Jazz Standards Podcast
Get 50% off your first month when joining the Inner Circle: https://members.learnjazzstandards.com/sp/inner-circle-sales-page-podcast-direct/

Hey. Do you ever feel frustrated by your musical progress because you don't feel like you're improving quickly enough? Or do you feel overwhelmed because there are a lot of different things when it comes to playing jazz that you have to practice and learn?

Sometimes it feels like you're doing all this stuff in the practice room, but it just seems like a mess in your head and like you aren't really improving the way you want to. Perhaps a feeling of disorganization in the way that you're trying to improve as a musician.

Well, in today's episode, I want to talk to you about something that's going to be really encouraging and also really helpful, and that's the 1% mindset for high-achieving musicians. This mindset could be a huge game changer for you, and I want you to pay attention really closely.

In this episode:

1.  What is the 1% mindset for high-achieving musicians?
2.  How to overcome the loss of motivation
3.  How mindset can help you focus on the things that gives you sustainable benefits
4.  Know the mindset that I want you to start thinking more about and shifting towards
5.  Can the 1% mindset be measured?
6.  The 2 things that mindset does:
       - it propels you towards momentum
       - it starts shutting down unrealistic expectations
7.  The mindset of compounding musical improvement

Important Links:
Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Listen to the Learn Jazz Standards Podcast



Get 50% off your first month when joining the Inner Circle: https://members.learnjazzstandards.com/sp/inner-circle-sales-page-podcast-direct/

I recently ran a poll of over 2000 musicians playing all sorts of instruments over on our YouTube channel. And the question was, "What do you find most challenging about jazz improvisation?".

 And here were the options that we gave:

a) Creating melodic and cohesive solos
b) Understanding and applying jazz theory during improvisation
c) Developing a strong sense of timing and rhythmic feel
d) Building confidence to take risks and explore new ideas
e)Spontaneously connecting with other players during jazz jams

I'm about to reveal to you the answer and which one of those was the biggest challenge for musicians in this poll, as well as go through each five of these and give you actual strategies to improve on them.

In this episode:

The poll results show that out of 2000 musicians:
1.  51% said creating melodic and cohesive solos is the biggest challenge to jazz
                  improvisation.
2.  24% said that understanding and applying jazz theory during improvisation
3.  10% said developing a strong sense of timing and rhythmic feel
4.  9% said building confidence to take risks and explore new ideas
5.  7% said spontaneously connecting with other players during jazz jams
6.  The most important thing that you can do to create melodic and cohesive jazz solos
7.  How to do the melody development exercise
8.  Practicing with motivic development helps in creating cohesive jazz solos
9.  Learn and internalize jazz language
10. Composing your own solos helps in developing better improvisation
11. Jazz theory isn't thought about during jazz improvisation
12. How to develop a strong sense of timing and rhythmic feel
13. The essence of improvisation
14.  Playing with other musicians helps develop spontaneity in connecting with other
         players during jazz jams


Important Links:
Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Listen to the Learn Jazz Standards Podcast
Get 50% off your first month when joining the Inner Circle: https://members.learnjazzstandards.com/sp/inner-circle-sales-page-podcast-direct/

I'm wondering if you can identify with a personality type that I happen to identify myself with, and that is that of a high achiever. Now a high achiever is someone who just naturally always wants to be progressing, like isn't usually completely satisfied with where they're at in any arena of life and always wants to continue to go forward and get better, which has been a great thing for a lot of aspects of my life and has really helped me out and been a great tool.

 On the other side of things, sometimes it's actually been quite the detriment because not feeling satisfied with where you're at continually can be a big problem and you have to learn how to manage that.

Well, musicians and creative types often identify with this kind of personality type. They want to move past musical plateaus and become better musicians continually.

So, in today's episode, I want to talk about six things you can do if you find yourself on a musical plateau and how you can start overcoming that, and also managing the feeling of being on a musical plateau.

In this episode:

1. New podcast music intro
2. The phase of our brand new website
3. 6 things you can do when you find yourself on a musical plateau:
     #1. Take a break
     #2. Practice something different
     #3. Get expert help
     #4. Ask a fellow musician how you can improve
     #5. Audit your playing
     #6. Start a musical project

Important Links:
Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Listen to the Learn Jazz Standards Podcast

 




 
Get 50% off your first month when joining the Inner Circle: https://members.learnjazzstandards.com/sp/inner-circle-sales-page-podcast-direct/

Back when I was in college, going to music school, there was a running joke between me and my friends where we would, perhaps after practicing or playing a gig, proclaim that we had finally figured out the secret to jazz.

It was a funny statement, I guess you could say. But the reason we would say such a thing is because, you know, at times jazz can be a little bit befuddling, like, confusing and frustrating and feeling like you're stuck.

And how do you improvise better? How do you get to the next level? How do you sound like your favorite jazz musicians? It would be so easy if there is just a secret, right? There must be some kind of secret out there that if you just knew this secret, everything would be easier.

Well, that was a joke back then. But on today's podcast episode, I'm actually taking it a little bit more seriously and sharing with you what I actually do believe today, years later, is the secret to jazz improvisation.

In this episode:

1. The 2 Elements to the secret of jazz improvisations:
         Element #1: Being able to hear music in your head.
         Element #2: Developing muscle memory
2. Strategies to start developing element #1
3. How listening, composing your own solos, and learning solos by ear helps solidify
     what you hear in your head.
4. Practice patterns, scales, and arpeggios to develop or improve muscle memory.

Important Links:
Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Listen to the Learn Jazz Standards Podcast



Get 50% off your first month when joining the Inner Circle: https://members.learnjazzstandards.com/sp/inner-circle-sales-page-podcast-direct/

What if you could improve your jazz playing, and just by thinking about it? Sounds a little too good to be true?

Well, in today's episode, I'm going to show you how it is actually completely possible with 8 different strategies for simply thinking in improving your jazz playing.

In this episode:

1.  Deep listening
2.  Analyze recordings
3.  Analyze your own playing
4.  Establish jazz goals
5.  Develop a practice plan
6.  Visualize harmony
7.  Practice visualization
8.  Mentally reframe negative musical experiences

Important Links:
Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Listen to the Learn Jazz Standards Podcast


Get 50% off your first month when joining the Inner Circle: https://members.learnjazzstandards.com/sp/inner-circle-sales-page-podcast-direct/